Stencil



(ModeL) G. F. G-U-NTHER.

STENCIL.

No. 340,040. Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE F. GUNTHER, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

STENCIL.

EPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 340,040. dated April 13, 1886.

Application filed October 28, 1885. Serial No. 181,157. (Model) T0 (tZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. GUNTHER, of Louisville, in the county of Jefierson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and Improved Stencil, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to stencil devices adapt ed for use with ink and brush for marking packages of merchandise; and the invention has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, and effective device of this character.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts of the stencil, all as hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,.

in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of my improved stencil with the letter-plate clamp partly broken away. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the stencil with the letter-plate clamp swung back a little from the plates, and Fig. 3 is a cross section of the stencil, taken on the line at w,

Fig. 1.

The metal plate A, which is the head-piece of the stencil, has fixed to it at one end the bent end b of a wire or rod, B, the main portion of which ranges parallel with the plate A, and is sharpened at the end, as at b, so that any required number of plates, 0, in which the stencil letters, numbers, or other characters are cut may be slipped over the wire by the bent loops or eyes 0, formed at the back or bottom ends of the letter-plates, and may be rested by their other ends upon the face of the head piece or plate A, with their edges in contact, as shown in the drawings.

To the plate A are attached, preferably by a swivel-connection, the metal eyes or loops D-one for each letter-plateand the letter plates each are provided with a slot, E, through which the corresponding eye, D, may be passed when the eye is turned into line with the slot.

To one end of the plate A is attached, preferably by a hinge-joint at f, the plate F, which may be swung down or laid over the letterplates 0, to clamp them to the plate A, said clamp-plate F having a series of holes, as at project sufficiently to allow a long wire pin, G, to be passed through all the eyes D, to lock the letter-plates 0 between the plates A F, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

If preferred, a hook, H, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) may be pivoted to the outer face of the clamp-plate F, and so as to be hooked into the eye D over each letter. These hooks will be preferable for stencils used in marking the irregular or rounding surfaces of bales or packages, as the stencil then will be more flexible to yield to the faces being marked. The left hand ends oftheplate A and the pin or rod B are bent upward to form a handle, as at I, which may easily be grasped by the left hand, to hold the stencil while the markingbrush is used by the right hand over the letter-plates to print the desired letters, numbers, or characters on the boxes, packages, or bales of merchandise.

To make the hold on the stencil more secure when marking bales or irregularlysurfaced packages, a hook, J, will be fixed to the back of the plate or head-piece A, at the end of the stencil farthest from the handle, and may be pressed into the package or bale of merchandise, said hook preferably leaning toward the handle I, so that a pull on the handle will have a tendency to cause the hook to take a better hold. In stencils intended for use only on fiat surfaces the hook J will be dispensed with.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the letter-plates C are bent flatwise at 0', whereby their entire surfaces around the letters or characters cut in them will lie flat on the surface of the box or package being marked.

It is obvious that the plate A may have any length to accommodate any required number of letter-plates G, and the plate Aand the parallel rod or wire B may be separated more or less to suit series of letter-plates of various lengths. Furthermore, the end of the plate A may be bent or shaped to connect with a straight letter-holding rod, B, at the handle end of the stencil, instead of the rod being bent to the plate, as shown. Furthermore, the clamp-plate F is not essential to the successful operation of the stencil,as the retaining-pin G may be passed through the eyes D directly f", through which the eyes or loopsD pass, and I over the letter-plates; or the hooks H, when pivoted to the plate A, may be engaged with the'eyes D directly over the letter-plates, but the use of the clamp-plate F is preferable, as thelettenplates will be more tightly clamped thereby to the plate A and so as to hold their faces in the same plane, to allow the rapid use of the brush over them in marking the packages, as will readily be understood.

Having thus described my invention, I claim c as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. Astencil comprising a top plate, A, a wire or rod, B, .bent upward at one end and connected to the top plate, A, the opposite end of the rod being disconnected from the top plate and adapted to have stencil-plates strung on it, and a retainer connected to the top plate, for preventing lateral movement of said stencil-plates, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the top plate, A, having a retainer for the stencil-plates, of the wire or rod B, bent upward at one end and connected to the top plate, the free end of'the rod B being pointed, as at b, and extended beyond the end of the top plate, to allow of the ready stringing of the stencilplates, substantially as set forth. I

3. A stencil comprising a plate, A, provided with eyes D, a rod, B, connected to plate A and ranging parallel therewith, letter-plates O, strung upon the rod B and having slots, as

at E, through which the eyes D pass when the letter-plates rest on plate A, and a. retaining device passed through the eyes D, over the letterplates, substantially as herein set forth.

4. A stencil comprising a plate, A, provided with eyes D, a rod, B, connected to the plate A and ranging parallel therewith, letter plates 0, strung upon the rod 13 and having slots, as at E, through which the eyes D pass, a clampplate, F, provided with aperturesf, for the passage of eyes D, and placed over the letterplates, and a retaining device passed through the eyes over the clamp-plate, substantially as herein set forth.

5., The combination, in a stencil, of the 4.5 Y

plate A, having eyes D, a rod, B, connected at one end to the plate A, letter-plates G, strung upon rod B and having slots E,through which the eyes D pass,a clamp'plate, F, connected to plate A, provided with apertures f for the passage of eyes D, and adapted to hold the letter-plates to plate A, and hooks or a wire, G, passed through the eyes D,outside of the clamp-plate, substantially as herein set forth.

6. In a stencil comprisinga plate, A, a rod, B, connected to and ranging parallel therewith, to receive the letter-plates and allow them to rest on the plate A, the connected ends of the plate A and rod B being bent upward 6ov to form a handle, as at l, substantially as herein set forth.

7. Thestencil-platc 0, herein shown and described, formed with an upward bend at one longitudinal edge and with an eye, 0, along 65 its opposite edge, the said eye being formed on the upper surface of the stencil, whereby the bottom surface of the stencil will be perfectly fiat, substantially asset forth. I

8. In a stencil, the letter-plateC, formed with eyes a at one edge, adapting them to be strung upon a rod, B, substantially as herein, set forth.

9. Ina stencil comprising aplate, A, a rod, B, connected to and ranging parallel therewith,and letterplates G, strung on rod Band resting on plate A, said plates 0 bent at c, substantially as shown and described,wherel1y the entire surface of the plates in which the characters are cut will lie flat on the'surface '80 to be marked, as set forth.

GEORGE F. GUNTHER.

Witnesses:

CHAS. WARREN, H. C. COQNY. 

